Northern Ireland Protocol: Federation of Small Businesses for Northern Ireland finds Windsor Framework causing "widespread disruption" to trade with GB

The FSB said that their major report reveals that while the Framework was intended to unlock opportunities, it is instead "creating severe disruption for small businesses and fracturing the UK Internal Market".

The Windsor Framework was introduced in 2023 to correct problems in the Northern Ireland Protocol. It created a 'green lane' for goods coming into NI from GB, in order to minimise EU customs regulations imposed on Northern Ireland after Brexit.

However an FSB survey about its impact found:

• Trade disruption is widespread – with 58% of businesses trading between GB and NI reporting "moderate to significant challenges" operating across the UK Internal Market.

• Over a third (34%) have already ceased trade rather than deal with new compliance demands.

• Strategic confidence is plummeting - 56% of affected firms are not confident in planning for the year ahead, citing uncertainty and red tape.

• Dual market access is a missed opportunity - Just 14% of NI businesses understand and benefit from access to both UK and EU markets.

• Support services are failing businesses - 78% rate government support as poor or very poor and 80% find it difficult to access help.

Alan Lowry, Chair of FSB Northern Ireland, said: “Small businesses have shown immense resilience, but they cannot be expected to navigate complex new systems alone. The Windsor Framework was meant to offer opportunity – but, for many, it has delivered confusion, constraint and cost.

"This report is a clear call to action. Policymakers must simplify processes, improve communication, and ensure support is accessible. Only then can the Windsor Framework become an enabler of growth rather than a barrier to trade."

In his foreword, he said that over recent months businesses have described the cumulative impact of new frictions.

One said that new paperwork is “consuming resources that a small firm simply doesn’t have to spare," he said.

"Another long-established supplier laments that some of their GB partners have ‘just stopped supplying to us’ rather than trying to untangle the red tape.

"These voices echoed across sectors, painting a picture of mounting costs and fading patience.

The report said the Framework “has introduced new frictions and uncertainties that weigh heavily" on small businesses.

It added: "For businesses in Great Britain, the added complexity and costs have, in too many cases, led them to scale back engagement with the NI market."

The report quotes one manufacturing business from Northern Ireland saying the paperwork has resulted in “some suppliers with a 30-year trading history have just stopped supplying to us.”

Speaking about the report, TUV leader Jim Allister said that taken together with figures from the NI Statistics and Research Agency on trade diversion, "it is clear we are long past the point when HM Government should be acting under Article 16 of the Protocol".

(Article 16 allows the UK to implement safeguarding actions unilaterally if EU trade arrangements cause serious disruption.)

"But, sadly, this government is so beholden to the EU that it will readily sacrifice NI business in favour of placating Brussels," he added.

He believes there is “a ready made solution in mutual enforcement”.

A UK Government spokesperson responded: "The Windsor Framework allows businesses to move goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland without being subject to customs duties and unnecessary checks and paperwork, while ensuring unfettered access for movements from Northern Ireland to Great Britain. "And the UK-EU SPS agreement, once finalised, will further help to facilitate the smooth flow of agrifood and plants, protecting the UK’s internal market, reducing costs for businesses and improving consumer choice. "There is a wide range of support available for businesses using the schemes under the Framework. The Government is committed to working closely with businesses and organisations like the FSB and considering their views as we move forward."

However a Stormont Department for the Economy spokesperson said it continues to press the British Government to “support and better communicate to businesses here as they navigate the workings of the Windsor Framework”, adding: “This report adds to that evidence base”.

"Invest NI has a dedicated resource and programme of activity to inform and educate businesses on the benefits of Dual Market Access (DMA). Our export performance indicates that local companies are benefitting from the Windsor Framework.”